Were you injured in an I-88 truck accident and believe you are entitled to receive compensation for your damages? Contact our Chicago office at (888) 424-5757 to schedule a free consultation. The truck crash lawyers at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, help victims get the maximum recovery they are entitled to receive under state law.
Discuss your compensation claim’s merits with a Chicago, IL personal injury lawyer who will protect your rights and obtain the compensation you deserve.
Interstate 88
Interstate 88 (I-88) is an intrastate freeway running from Chicago’s west side into Moline, IL/Davenport, Iowa, along the Iowa/Illinois border. The highway starts at the I-290/I-294 interchange in Hillside, running more than 140 miles to its western terminus at I-80 near Silvis.
In 2008, a portion of the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway became a part of the Chicago/Kansas City Expressway. The freeway runs through Aurora, DeKalb, Naperville, and Dixon, becoming the Illinois Tollway on the eastern side of Rock Falls.
The freeway was initially Illinois Route 5 before the Federal Government Highway Program designated the original state road as Interstate 88. A few years later, the east-west Tollway became the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway in northern Illinois.
Portions of the freeway were widened and reconstructed during the seven-year program starting in 2005. New bridges were constructed over the Fox River, increasing traffic density.
Major state highways and federal interstates intersect with I-88, including:
- I-80/I-74 (Des Moines’s, Peoria)
- I-39 (Bloomington, Normal, Rockford)
- I-353 (Veterans Memorial Tollway – Joliet)
- I-294 (Tri-State Tollway – Milwaukee, Indiana, Rockford & Eisenhower Expressway-Chicago)
- US Highway 30 (Clifton, Joliet, Rock Falls, Sterling, Sugar Grove)
Reducing Horrific Crashes on I-88
The Illinois Department of Transportation (DOT) and state police reduce the number of horrific crashes leading to severe injury, extensive property damage, and fatalities. Their objectives attempt to reduce road hazards like driving in the opposing lane and reducing vehicles’ probability of crashing into oncoming traffic.
Common problems that lead to serious semi-tractor-trailer crashes include:
- Driver distraction– Operating a vehicle while distracted is a common problem on Illinois roadways. Most states, including Illinois, have enacted laws banning phone use while driving, making it illegal to text, talk, or read text messages while driving.
- Driver fatigue – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration mandates that all commercial semi-tractor-trailer drivers take regular breaks and stop driving after eleven hours each day to avoid fatigue. However, even with the federal regulations, many truckers, trucking companies, and schedulers misuse the regulations to ensure that all deadlines are met.
- Mechanical failure– Semi-tractor-trailers can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds hauling freight, goods, fuels, produce, and merchandise on the nation’s interstate system. These vehicles require daily inspections and routine maintenance to ensure they operate safely.
- Blind spots– Every semi-tractor trailer has multiple blind spots that can hide other trucks, SUVs, vans, and passenger cars from the trucker’s view. These blind spots can cause hazardous situations when the trucker shifts lanes and does not see others in their blind spot.
- Environmental factors– That adverse weather conditions, especially during the winter months, make interstate number eighty-eight treacherous. Hazardous road conditions required truckers to take more caution, all while burdened with the pressure to maintain schedules, make their delivery appointments and meet their deadlines.
All commercial semi-tractor-trailer drivers are obligated to operate their vehicles safely as possible. However, truckers, like all drivers, can be distracted by using their cell phones, navigational equipment, connected devices, computers, or other external/internal contributing factors leading to crashes each day.
Many truck crashes happen from failures to regularly check, inspect, and make repairs leading to mechanical failures, including worn tires, malfunctioning brakes, and other necessary safety features.
I-88 Broome County State Police Truck Accident Reports
Numerous news reports reveal hazardous driving throughout Illinois when truckers and motorists keep moving during adverse weather conditions or on dangerous roads. According to the Illinois DOT, in 2017, there were 11,732 accidents involving semi-tractor-trailers leading to nearly 2000 injuries and 107 deaths.
The number of horrific crashes increased the following year, with 13,071 accidents leading to 2235 injuries and 122 deaths. Nearly all of these crashes involved a commercial truck, semi-tractor trailer, or 18-wheeler. Many accidents involved passenger vehicles. Some of these collisions were posted online, including:
Broome County, September 2019 – Broome County officials evacuated residents in the town of Chenango and Fenton after a commercial truck hauling CNG (compressed natural gas) overturned outside Binghamton on I-88. The trucker was killed after he was ejected from the vehicle at the crash scene.
Law enforcement said the crash happened early morning, around 1:00 A.M., on the eastbound lane near Exit 2 on I-88 in Fenton, Broome County. Eyewitness accounts reveal that the trucker swerved out of his lane to avoid a deer in his path and struck the median barrier that divides westbound and eastbound lanes.
The crash caused the commercial vehicle to overturn, sliding across all eastbound lanes before it struck the highway barriers on the right. Law enforcement closed the roads to offload the compressed natural gas before removing the truck from the road.
Police officials said the residents in the town of Chenango and Fenton’s neighboring communities were evacuated until getting the “all-clear” to open the roads.
DuPage County, January 2021 – First responders said a thirty-year-old woman and a nine-year-old child involved in a horrific collision with a semi-tractor-trailer near Route 53 on westbound I-88 were extricated from the wreckage. The crash that killed one driver happened late morning, around 11:00 A.M., involving a semi-truck and a 2009 Honda Accord traveling westbound in the left lane.
The State police said that the passenger car driver lost control, hitting the median and driving back into traffic before being struck by the commercial vehicle. The local fire department extricated the trapped passengers from the heavily damaged car to transport them to the Good Samaritan Hospital. While hospitalized in January, the woman and the nine-year-old child succumbed to their injuries.
According to State police reports, first responders closed all three lanes to allow emergency personnel to get to the accident scene. Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) transported the passenger vehicle occupants to the Good Samaritan Hospital. The trucker refused treatment.
Joslin, May 2020 – The local Sheriff’s Department closed westbound lanes on I-88 after 2:30 P.M. when a crash happened near I-88 on Illinois Route 92. The vehicle entered the median along the left lane before flipping and hitting a Ford Edge head-on.
The police said two individuals were killed in the crash, including one driver. Others were hospitalized with severe injuries. Law enforcement stopped access to the road until the damaged car’s debris could be removed from the roadway. Traffic was diverted to the nearest exit.
Hiring an I-88 Truck Accident Attorney to Resolve Your Compensation Case
The truck accident attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can advise you on the merits of your case to proceed with filing and resolving a personal injury compensation claim. Did you suffer an injury in an interstate crash? Contact our interstate injury lawyers to schedule a free consultation to discuss your rights and legal options.
Our lawyers do not charge legal fees until after the compensation case is successfully resolved.
Did the negligence of another take the life of your loved one? You can file a wrongful death lawsuit to pay for your monetary damages, lost earnings, grief, pain, and suffering.
All information you and your loved ones share with our personal injury lawyers is confidentially protected through an attorney-client relationship. Our Chicago truck accident attorneys currently follow CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines on Covid-19 social distancing to maintain everyone’s well-being.
Our practice areas include workplace injuries, car crashes, premises liability, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, product liability, and wrongful death. Our law firm currently represents injured clients throughout Illinois in Cook County, Dupage County, Lake County, Peoria County, Will County, Winnebago County, Aurora, Chicago, Joliet, and Schaumburg, and Waukegan.
